Kevin Mulhavil from South East Asian Livestock Services (SEALS) said his company was not willing to risk the safety of someone on board with no experience around buffalo.

He said the company was also not willing to risk losing its export licence on the possibility that a public servant, with no experience, would misinterpret the behaviour of the feral animals and file a negative report.

"I just can't see SEALS exporting buffalo next year because of the risks associated with having someone who's perhaps inexperienced around buffalo on board the vessel," he told ABC Rural.

NT Buffalo Industry Council's Louise Bilato, said without exporters, the buffalo industry in the Northern Territory would collapse and feral populations would increase.

"We're very distressed about this and it's a shocking situation to contemplate," she said.

"If there is no abattoir and if there is no live export opportunities then the Territory's [feral] buffalo population is going to increase and that has environmental consequences as well."

Ms Bilato said the Buffalo Industry Council had written a letter to Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud, inviting him to the NT to meet with industry and understand the issue.

In a statement to ABC Rural, the Federal Agriculture Department said an internal recruitment process was underway to hire suitably qualified observers.